Vol. 2 #3
Many times, people mistake a quiet meeting for one in which everyone is in agreement; very often, however, this silence may be concealing huge fears and disagreements. This is especially true with regard to core banking transformation programs that have so much at stake and the pressure to succeed is just huge. Team members may keep silent because they fear being judged or inculpated into conflict. Unfortunately, when there is complete silence, some real issues are left unmentioned but often return to become big problems later.
Anecdote: There was a critical meeting in a large bank to integrate a new core banking platform with existing systems. The discussion in the meeting was very quiet—there were very few comments or questions. Subsequently, it came to light that many of the team members had some serious apprehensions about the integration process and simply did not express their opinions for fear of reprisals. What was the outcome? The implementation had some major hurdles, and the project cost escalated with a delay. This was a lesson about the risks of silent meetings in core banking projects.
Antidote: Encouraging Open
Communication
To offset this, it’s important that there is a setting within which individuals in the team feel psychologically safe to air their opinions and misgivings freely. This can be achieved by establishing ground rules for meetings that underscore respect and openness. In other words, it should be clearly indicated from the outset that ideas are welcome and disagreement not only is acceptable but encouraged.
Other techniques, like round-robin discussions, ensure that a person takes turns to express their views. This is very handy in avoiding domination and overshadowing by dominant voices.
Another critical factor is active listening. People must feel that when they do speak up, their contribution is recognized, responded to with questions, and seriously contemplated. Not only does this tend to bring out more people and more ideas, but it helps foster trust throughout the group.
Training in assertive communication can even take this a step further. When everyone knows how to clearly state their ideas confidently yet respectfully, they’ll be more likely to actively contribute, even when the topic may be uncomfortable.
Found this article interesting? Check out these three related reads for more.
- Corporate candor: The impact of overconfidence in project teams (A new series)
- Corporate candor: Risks of optimistic timelines in project execution (A new series)
- Corporate candor: The official vs. real reasons behind workplace decisions (A new series)
#CoreBankingTransformation #SilentLeadership
